A Design Project by Studio José de la O

Damián Rocking Horse

Mexico City's Museo de Arte Popular (MAP) commissioned José de la O to collaborate with a craftsman of his choice in order to produce a limited edition design piece.

It was not a surprise that de la O choose to work with Oscar Montalvo, from Muebles Muebles Villín Montalvo, a third generation old, wood workshop from Tlacotalpan, México and part of The Chair that Rocks initiative.

The formal elements of the rocking horse explore all the different construction methods traditionally used in Tlacotalpan, as well as the most common material in the region: Cedar and Wicker.

This collaboration express the tension between the Designer and the Craftsman, where both expectation clash in an artefact where different design values could be find through co-creation.

The artefact will be presented on the biennial exhibition "Arte/Sano entre Artistas 3.0" (Spanish for "Craftsmen between Artists 3.0) the third biennial where the Popular Arts and Crafts Museum in México City invites different designers and artist to collaborate with Mexican craftsmen.